MY FEMALE ATE HER PUPPIES!!! WHY!!!! IN ARE EYES THE PUPPIES LOOKED AND WERE DOING GREAT!! SHE WILL NOT BE BREED AGAIN!!

MY FEMALE POMERANIAN HAD HER VERY FIRST LITTER, WE WERE VERY EXCITED!SHE HAD THE 1ST ONE NO PROBLEM AND DID EVERYTHING SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO, THE SECOND ONE CAME OUT STILL BORN WE TRIED TO REVIEVE HIM BUT HE WAS ALREADY DEAD AND THEN HER 3RD ONE CAME AND SHE TOOK RIGHT CARE OF THAT ONE!WE MADE SURE EVERYTHING WAS DONE AND PUT HER AND HER PUPPIES IN A NICE BIG CAGE TO REST.WE CAME BACK AND MIA HAD CARRIED THE PUPPY ACROSS THE CAGE WHICH THIS PUPPY WAS HER FIRST BORN AND KILLED IT! THERE WAS ONLY A LEG LEFT WHEN WE CHECKED ON HER! WE GOT THE OTHER PUPPY OUT ASAP AND I AM NOW TAKING CARE OF THIS LITTLE ONE.I TRIED TO PUT MIA IN WITH HIM SHE STARTED TO LICK HIM AND THEN SHE WENT TO BITE!SHE DID THIS TWICE.SHE IS GOING CRAZY TRYING TO GET TO THIS PUPPY AND I WONT LET HER NOW.MIA IS GETTING SPAYED NOW, BUT I JUST REALLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY THIS HAPPENED,I DONT UNDERSTAND!PLEASE ANY ANSERWS THAT U CAN GIVE WE WOULD BE TRUELY GRATEFUL.I CANT STOP CRYING.ALSO ANY ADVICE ON THE PUPPY PLEASE!

Status

Cast your vote for which answer you think is best!

Answers

Did you moved her and the puppies immediately after they were born??? Was is quiet and calm around her, and was she kept away from the family and especially the male? Also was the temperature where she and the babies were about 90 degrees to keep them warm enough? Did she see a vet to make sure no pups or placentas were retained? Any of these are reasons why a female could eat her pups.
As a breeder, all I can tell you is that I NEVER leave my females alone with a litter for the first 24 hours at least, and watch them even longer with a first time mom. In many cases it takes a while for the hormones to kick in and they are not trustworthy alone until that happens. They are kept in a room by themselves with no other people or children or dogs near them. I have a large whelping box when the mother can get away from the pups if she needs to, and there is a heating pad and/or a heat lamp keeping the whelping box at least 90 degrees for the first week.
I am sorry for your loss.

Member 641257
answered on 11/25/09.
Helpful? /3

yes, you should spay her. I know it is horrible that this happened.
We had rabbits that did that.
For what ever reason you may never know. Sometimes it is maybe just the dog under stress, or she wanted to, or maybe the pups are sick.
You can take the remaining puppy to the vet to make sure it is healthy and they can help you get the pup started on the bottle, how often and which formula to use. good luck. sorry that it happened ((keep momma away from baby))

I'm so sorry this happened. I never bred or even ever seen puppies being born so i am of little help, however I did hear that some mom's will eat their babies if they are sick, and I did hear from a breeder that she had one female dog that did this for no good reason, therefore she could never be bred again. I'm glad you will have her spayed, this must have been a horrifying scene. I agree with the post above me, have the Vet look at the puppy and get advice from the Vet about how to care for the baby.

There are a lot of reasons why she would eat her pups. One big reason for dam aggression, one that's preventable, is low calcium in the dam. The bitch loses a lot of calcium during labor, then even more when her milk drops. When it gets to a certain level, the dam just "snaps" and attacks/kills/eats her babies. Welping bitches should always get calcium supplements during labor and for the following day. I use Tums. You are right in your decision to spay her. There's really no way to tell why she ate her pup, but she did it once and so you can never trust her to not do it again. Also, there is a chance it is a genetic trait. The surviving pup needs colostrum from her mom for antibodies. CAUTIOUSLY, try and allow the puppy to nurse a little holding the dams head so she can't hurt the puppy. For long term, try and find a foster dam who can nurse the pup. Otherwise tubefeeding will give the best results. Your vet should be able to help you. Lotta Luck!

Also, sometimes the dam will eat the pups if she doesn't feel the whelping box is in a safe place.
Here's an article that as I remember speaks a little about this:www.chelsea
There are many things like this that can go wrong in breeding. I'm sorry that this happened to you.

cookiemiller.tripod.com
~Tiffany, breeder-in-training

Member 371549
answered on 11/25/09.
Helpful? /2

I agree with Isy...It sounds like she is calcium depleted...You really need to take her to the vet & find out what's wrong!

Member 73926
answered on 11/25/09.
Helpful? /3

there could be a number of reasons, including inexperience. See the vet and while there ask for some:

they use in with humans too. promotes bonding .
dogs along with all other placental animals are driven to "destroy the evidence" of helpless offspring. Your first time whelper may be confused as to how far to go. I assume you fed her properly (as in using puppy kibble) while she was pregnant. She may also be coming down with "milk fever", which as Isy pointed out could be a cause.

At any rate, the pup would be better off with her mom, so get to the vet asap WITH the remaing pup, and mom so he can see what's going on between them. He'll have a solution for you, even if it's only advice on how to raise the pup yourself.
Good luck.

Member 901737
answered on 11/25/09.
Helpful? /0

I'm so sorry this happened. I agree with everyone else that you need to get Mom and the remaining puppy to the vet for better advice.

As soon as Mom is ready, have her spayed. It'll be better for her in the long run.

Also remember, she's an animal and they act on completely different instincts than we do. Try not to hold this against her. It's not a morality question. It's just nature... and sometimes it's cruel.